A New Light
by nicoLE-oLE-182
Summary: I introduce an original character, Mae, who is almost what most would call a Mary-Sue, but not completely. Draco Malfoy has always had feelings for her, and now in his fifth year, Mae finally sees something more than just an odious brat in him. I'm sure y


**** = New point of view/place/time  
  
Chapter 1: An Unspoken Love  
  
He was running blindly through the night. He felt wind rushing past him as he made his way toward the distant light. He'd no idea where he was or how he'd gotten there. There was a constant, shrill sound surrounding him and echoing in his ears sharply. Going at a breakneck speed, he suddenly started to fall as if he'd run into a great hole. He could feel cold wind rushing past him as he plummeted down, down, down. Draco Malfoy suddenly awoke with a startling jump, feeling he'd just fallen many miles and landed very suddenly. He noticed that there were many people around him, sniggering as they saw that he had been asleep. He was in the stifling dungeon of Potion's class, and Snape was out in the Hospital Wing with Neville Longbottom after another of his disastrous accidents. His cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, were staring at him lazily from the desk. Draco must have almost fallen off his chair when he'd been falling in his dream. He got up from his weird position and stood up, brushing himself off casually, as if he'd done nothing worth a laughing fit from the class. As Draco stood up, he saw Melany Hailer, a pretty girl, looking back at him from her seat in front of his with an amused grin. She'd always hated him, a thing Draco regretted for he had totally opposite feelings for her. This year (5th) she hadn't been acting as much as though she hated him as 3rd and 4th. She was a Gryffindor and was very good friends with Harry Potter. Melany was one of the popular girls, the popular girl, actually. Ever since their first year, everyone had always loved Melany Hailer, even the Slytherins whom had always hated all Gryffindors, especially. They were all convinced that the Sorting Hat had made a mistake when it put Melany in Gryffindor. But Draco knew it hadn't, because Mae (Melany's nickname and the only thing she answered to unless she's called by a teacher) was everything a Gryffindor is: nice (if not to him, to others in general), brave, and a fan of Harry Potter. Draco sat down without a word to her, and she quickly turned around as Snape stomped back in, in a bad mood, now. He felt foolish and unrealistic for having feelings for Mae. Which boy in Hogwarts didn't? It was just so predictable of him to do such a thing. He didn't have a chance at all. "Now, let's get back to class before that blubbering danger had disrupted once again." About an hour later, the bell rang for class to end so Draco stood up. Mae brushed past him, with a quick and completely insincere "sorry". In that fraction of a second Draco mentally remarked on her beauty once again. She was shorter than him, about four inches shorter at 5'4". Mae had long, straight golden-brown hair, which reached to her elbows. She was skinny in a delicate way and was already matured, as were most of the girls her age. Mae was a quarter black, which gave her the look of having an ever-lasting, mild suntan, and she had an indistinct line of the most adorable freckles running across her cheeks and nose. But of all her features, the most beautiful were, by far, Mae's eyes. She had bright green eyes (brighter than Harry's) with a golden out-lining. Draco recalled the past years in Hogwarts when Mae had hated him so much, that she couldn't even look at him without taking in a deep, shuddering breath. Though, when Draco did manage to hold her gaze, Mae would glare at him. Her glare was by far the worst, most piercing glare anyone he knew, beside himself, could give. The way her bright eyes suddenly turned to ice, sparkling with hatred was enough to make even Draco look away. So far this year, though it was only the middle of September, Mae had started to become, ever so slightly friendlier towards him, an improvement Draco was very pleased with. **** Mae was hurrying up to her dormitory. She felt the sudden need to talk to somebody. Somebody straightforward and honest. Someone who wasn't afraid to tell her the truth about what she felt. Mae was so confused at what she was feeling. Last year she had hated Draco Malfoy to the core, but today, and all year, she hadn't even been able to scowl at him when he looked at her. She had just sat there staring at him until she couldn't stand it anymore and turned around. The transformation had happened when she was at Diagon Alley, buying her school materials. Mae was standing in Flourish and Blotts on that warm, sunny day in August when she had spotted an unfamiliar boy with his back to her and not far, eyeing a similar book. From what she could see from the back, the boy looked like he would be very handsome. He was wearing a long, black Hogwarts cloak (Mae couldn't see the house symbol) and casual, black boots. His silver-blonde hair was down and fell in loose tendrils around his head, not a single ounce of gel on it. Of course, Mae had not expected this boy to be Draco Malfoy; he always had his hair back, even if his life counted on him not having it gelled, it was, at least, that was what she thought. Mae walked towards this boy who she took as a student she had just never seen before. She was behind him when she stood on her tiptoes to see over his shoulder and said, "What's that you're reading?" The boy quickly turned around and Mae almost screamed when she saw whom it was. After the boy had showed her the cover (The Twelve Uses of Dragon's Blood) Mae had nodded and walked away quickly. She had felt her face go red and hot, as Draco had looked after her strangely. And then, something similar happened again. Mae was on the train to Hogwarts on September 1st and had decided to walk around and see whom she recognized in the different compartments. She came to one far away from where she sat with Harry, Ron, and Hermione and opened the door. She peeked her head around and saw that it was strangely dark. There was someone lying there, stomach down, hood up. Mae didn't recognize the person and cleared her throat. "Um, hello?" Mae had said quietly, assuming that there must be someone asleep there. The person flipped over on the seat casually, most of his face except his mouth covered by the long shadow. Mae saw it curve up in a smirk. She was caught by surprise as the person stood up and walked over to her in a flash. She stumbled backwards, falling against the door of the compartment across the row. Standing at the door was Draco Malfoy, his hood now down and with a bright-eyed look on his face and the same annoying smirk he almost always wore when he saw Mae. Mae hadn't said anything as she got up off the compartment door and straightened herself up. "What are you doing in there?" she asked, looking around him to the otherwise empty compartment. Draco's grin widened. "Nothing. Just getting some rest. I'm quite tired this year." Mae stared at him with a confused, and almost concerned look on her face. Draco had stared back at her thoughtfully. It was a strange look, as Mae was so unused to it. It was somewhat refreshing at the same time, though. Mae suddenly felt different towards this boy she'd always hated. She didn't know what she did feel, but only that she lacked the familiar hate. Before becoming obvious, she had turned away from him with small "Okay, bye," and headed back to her own compartment. Mae burst into her dormitory and plopped down on her bed. She decided not to say anything to anyone yet, but wait until she was sure everyone else was asleep to wake up somebody to talk to her, because it was definitely going to be a girl. She walked downstairs to the Great Hall with her good friend: Lavender Brown. She sat down in her usual spot, which was either next to Harry or Ron, tonight Harry. Mae was facing the Slytherin table, and had just happened to spot Draco sitting almost directly across from her, on the other side of the room. She looked at him for a moment, until he suddenly looked up and saw her. He gave her a questionable grin and Mae opened her mouth as if to say something, but looked back down quickly, her face reddening. Harry had seen her do this and was staring at her strangely until she looked back up and saw him. "What are you doing?" he asked with a disgusted look towards Draco. Mae looked at him but didn't answer for a while. "I-I- um. I'm not sure," she said with a disgruntled sigh. But Harry had already turned his attention toward the food, which had just appeared on the plates. After Mae had finished eating, she had gone straight to the common room. She had gone the whole dinner trying not to look up in case Draco was looking at her again and Mae would get caught in another awkward stare. The hours passed and Mae was already in bed waiting for the others to fall asleep. When she was sure everyone was, she pulled aside her curtains. "Hermione!" she whispered at the curtained bed in which Hermione lay. "Hermione!" Mae said again. There was weird sort of shifting noises and Hermione's curtains opened also. "What is it?" she asked rather sleepily. "Come here. I need to talk to you," she said in a rather urgent voice. Hermione got up out of bed and sat down on Mae's. Mae pulled the curtains around them and whispered "Lumos" to make her wand light up so that they could see each other while they were talking. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?" Hermione asked, thinking there must be something wrong at Mae's urgent tone. "No, no, nothing's wrong. I just really need to talk to someone honest, like you." Hermione looked quite flattered and taken aback at this. Mae had never really been very close with Hermione. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone, especially Ron." Hermione nodded slowly, wondering what she possibly had to keep especially from Ron. "Well, you know how I've always hated Draco Malfoy?" Hermione nodded. "Well, now, all of a sudden, I feel differently towards him. Like, at the same as I hate him, I start to-well, three's no other way to put this, but-- . adore him." Mae waited for the blow to fall on Hermione and she looked absolutely shocked, even almost disgusted. "Adore? Draco Malfoy?" she said amazed. Mae nodded fervently and was now looking at Hermione with wide eyes. "But how? Why?" "I don't know. Just this one day, I was at Flourish and Blotts, and he had his back to me and his hair was down, so I really didn't recognize him. The first thought that popped into my head as I saw this boy from the back was that he must be pretty good-looking. So I go up to him and ask him what he's reading, right-and it turns out to be him! Well, I'm standing there, shocked and he just stares back at me in this annoyingly thoughtful way, and I think to myself 'He has really good looks-not one bit at all ugly,' you know?" Hermione's mouth hung open. "I mean-come on, Hermione, the very first thought you had about Draco Malfoy wasn't 'that boy looks really mean, I hate him', was it?" Hermione looked at Mae amazed, but then her face reddened a bit. "Well-no. Not really: I had thought he was quite, well, good-looking. But all the same, in time, the way a person acts can really make them look uglier or prettier to you day by day," Hermione said quickly, the redness fading quickly from her face. "Yeah, I know. That's how I'd always felt about him. But, now. it's just different. You know? I mean he never was ever a bit mean with me. He actually, hardly ever really talked to me. The first time he tried, I just pushed him off with a glare," Mae said regretfully. She continued on after a while, "I think I should really have gotten to know him." Here Mae stopped and looked at Hermione with wide eyes. "I've got this feeling coming from him similar to the one I've always gotten from Harry. With Harry, you've got this secret that would endanger anyone if they knew. But Malfoy. he's got this feeling of secret that he could never let anyone know. Know the real him, because if they did, he wouldn't know what to do, and only bad things would come from it." Hermione looked at Mae quizzically. She mentally agreed that Mae was right. Draco had always had this secretive air around him, keeping people from really getting to know him, as if he didn't want to be known. There was a long silence, and neither of them spoke. Mae, too wrapped up in her confused feelings, and Hermione too bewildered with what Mae was telling her. "So what are you going to do?" Hermione suddenly asked. Mae looked up at her. "I have no idea. I mean, what am I supposed to do? Just go up to him and say: 'Hi, Draco, good news, I don't hate you anymore! Wanna be friends?'" she said. "Well, I guess you could just act friendlier by talking to him often, and maybe he'll talk back." "Yeah, I suppose. well, thanks Hermione. I had really needed to talk to someone," Mae said smiling at Hermione gratefully. "Any time," Hermione, replied, getting up and walking back over to her bed. Mae put away her wand after extinguishing it and climbed into her covers, her mind still swimming with ideas on what to say. After only a few minutes though, she fell into peaceful sleep. **** The next morning, Mae didn't wake up until the late morning since it was the weekend and she had no classes. When she did wake up, she headed off to the Great Hall for breakfast. Even though she had woken up rather late, most people were still asleep and the Great Hall was rather empty. On her way down to the Great Hall, she had bumped into someone. They had been both been walking blindly, and looking down at the ground when they bumped into each other. "Oh sorry--" Mae had begun until she looked up and saw whom she had just bumped into. Draco Malfoy. He looked like he had been about to say something rude like "Brave as lions, right? But as blind as bats I suppose. Never mentioned that in the Sorting Hat's song, huh?" but had quickly stopped himself when he saw just which Gryffindor this was. Mae just stared at him as he stared back. A sudden idea came into Mae's head and she smiled. "Good morning, Draco." Draco stared back at her with a strange look on his face. For the first time, Mae had just called him "Draco" instead of the usual "Malfoy" or "Slug Breath" or "Rat Face" or... "Um-hi," he said taken aback. Mae just stared at him, wondering what she could possibly do next. "Look-I. I'm sorry I'd always been such a jerk to you before." There was another long silence and Draco was very shocked at Mae's behavior. After a moment of collecting himself, Draco found he was grinning and found words. "It's fi-fine," he said, almost through his teeth; he was hardly able to stop himself from smiling. Mae smiled back and turned to leave, feeling much better about her self. She also noted, as she turned towards her table, that Draco had a great smile that, when it spread to his eyes, made him look irresistibly handsome. Draco was about to turn away also when his mouth got the better of him before he could stop himself. "Hey, Mae! Would you, um, like to join me? I mean-there's like no one here-if you want to, I mean." Mae stopped and turned to look at him; it was her turn to smile without control. "Yeah," she nodded her head fervently, "okay." Mae was fighting back a number of giggle fits as she followed Draco over to the Slytherin table. He pulled out a chair for her, and she sat down with a polite "Thank you". Almost instantly, as they sat down, Mae and Draco's plates filled themselves with all kinds of breakfast foods. Soon afterwards, Mae and Draco were talking like fast friends. And, not soon after that, other people started walking into the Great Hall, gaping, astonished, at the sight of them together. It wasn't until Harry, Ron, and Hermione came in that they got the most bewildered and somewhat disgusted looks. Hermione looked at them with a grin, as though she had expected this, as Mae was sure she, Hermione, had. Ron looked at them with utter shock and disgust (that was towards Draco). And Harry looked at them with awe and found he was gaping at them when he first came in. Ron had sat down with his back towards them, not wanting to look at them, and Harry and Hermione, opposite of him: Harry, the better to see that they weren't up to anything. Hermione kept looking at Mae with a wry type of grin on, Mae returning it with an appreciative smile. It had looked to Mae, that Hermione was also trying to suppress a number of giggle fits. Draco had noticed this because he looked at Mae questionably. "What's wrong with her?" he jerked his chin towards the Gryffindor table, indicating that he was talking about Hermione. "Well--" Mae was about to tell him about their conversation last night, but decided not to, "I'm not sure." About half an hour later, people had, more or less, gotten over them being together. Now everyone seemed to be talking about it as though they had always expected it. Mae overheard some of the comments from nearby: "I always thought they'd end up together: no matter how much she acted like she hated him." "They do make a very cute couple, you know." A couple of Ravenclaws were talking as they passed them. Though, on the other end of the Slytherin table, Pansy Parkinson was looking very disgruntled; she had been very taken with Draco, and the thought of losing him to a Gryffindor was very tormenting. But, the person Mae was most worried about was Ron. Mae knew for a fact that Ron had always liked Mae very much, and she acted as if she couldn't tell what he was doing whenever he tried to ask her out, but found himself lost for words. She felt this might just crush Ron. Mae found her self in awe as she saw how nice Draco could be. He had been talking, the whole time, very politely and not once, ill about a Gryffindor or anyone else. She had, of course, expected him to be nice about her, but at the same time talk meanly about anyone of the other Gryffindors, especially Harry, Ron, or Hermione. But, not once, did Draco even mention them. Perhaps he noticed how good of friends they were, which Mae greatly appreciated. **** As soon as Harry had seen, he was sure his eyes were tricking him. But Mae and Draco were really sitting together, talking, and having what looked like a good time. He looked to Ron and saw the color had drained out of his face and Harry felt immensely sorry for him. He also knew, of course, of Ron's infatuation for Mae, and this was something to surely hurt him at the least. Harry stared at Mae and Draco from his seat, not knowing what he was looking for, but kept watch anyway. Hermione was sitting next to him acting very strange. Ever since they had come down and spotted Mae and Draco, she had been grinning ironically and looking like she were about to burst out in giggles. "What is wrong with you?" Ron had spoken what Harry was thinking as Hermione grinned at Mae again. She stopped and looked at Ron curtly. "Nothing," she said, fighting back a giggle. "Doesn't look like nothing. You've been fighting back a great howl of laughter all morning, and I for one don't find this funny," Ron snapped. "Of course you don't; you don't understand, and you're practically in love with her," Hermione said rather rudely. "What do you mean I don't understand? How Mae could possibly like Malfoy, or how she suddenly stopped hating him?" Ron barked, becoming highly irritated. Hermione ignored him and returned to buttering her toast and eating it. Ron sighed with exasperation and sunk in his chair. The rest of the breakfast, Mae avoided Harry's eye in case Ron turned to look at them, too. Harry noticed this and didn't mind much; he was afraid he might mouth or perhaps yell something outrageous if he kept Mae's eye long enough. **** All through the breakfast, Mae felt Harry's gaze on her and didn't dare look over at the Gryffindors. She had noticed that Fred and George Weasley also looked quite bewildered and saw that they were lost for words; which was highly rare. Mae and Draco kept talking about random things until they were both full of food, and both got up, ready to leave. "What are you going to do today?" Draco asked Mae as she got up. "I don't know." She looked up at the ceiling to check the weather. "It looks like a sunny day, so I guess I'll go outside and finish some homework on the grass." She looked back down at him. "Why? Do you wanna' come? I wouldn't mind of course." "Sure, I'll meet you on the grounds after I get my stuff." Draco walked out the Great Hall and Mae followed, walking slower, trying hard to avoid Harry and Ron's eye. She was just barely out the hall when she heard a voice calling her. She dreaded it being Harry or Ron but as Mae turned, she saw it was Hermione. Mae sighed in relief. "I thought you might be Harry or Ron. I don't think I could cope with them right now. How are they?" she asked guiltily. "They should get over it eventually. Ron looked heartbroken though," Hermione said dejectedly. Mae felt even more guilt swell in her stomach. "That bad?" Mae asked sadly. Hermione nodded. "What about Harry? He just seemed extremely mad, watching me like a hawk the way he did. I was too scared to even look over towards you guys." "He's okay, but he's the one who's mad, well, disgusted. But Ron doesn't seem mad just extremely sad. But, anyway, where're you going?" she asked Mae. "I was just going to go to our dormitory and get my homework to do it outside. I invited Draco with me." A new pang of guilt hit her as she said this. "I just hope Ron and Harry don't decide to take a little stroll around the grounds." "I'll try to keep them from it in case they do." "Thanks, I appreciate it, Hermione. I got to go now, bye." Mae left and hurried up to her dormitory and grabbed her books, quills, and inkbottle and stuffed them all into her bag and ran back downstairs to the grounds. When she got down there Draco was already sitting against the tree next to the lake with his book propped open on his knee, reading and then jotting down notes. "Sorry it took me so long. I had to remember which classes I had homework for." Mae sat down in a patch of shade and pulled out her books and parchment along with her quill and inkbottle. "Sorry, already started. I forgot just how much homework I got. How about you?" Draco said looking up and laying his quill on his parchment, careful not to get any ink blots on it. "I've got.Divination, Transfiguration, Charms, History of Magic, and Defense Against the Arts. Though Professor Trelawney decided not to give us too much homework this weekend." "Lucky. Professor Victor gave us piles of homework in Arithmancy," Draco said, sighing in disgust as he looked over the great pile of papers he had to read and complete. ***** Hermione went back to the Great Hall after she left Mae. "What were you doing?" Harry asked her as she sat back down next to him. "I had to go to the bathroom." Lying to Harry and Ron was getting harder and harder each minute. Harry looked at Hermione for a second before looking up at the ceiling. "It's a really nice day outside. We should go out there before we have to drown ourselves in our homework," Hermione's stomach gave a jolt. "Outside? You don't want to go outside; there's, um, too much homework for us to go outside," she said, trying to sound natural. "I know, but--" "You know Harry, if we procrastinate it'll only take longer, and you'll regret you ever even thought of the idea. Once, your done, if you have time, you can go outside," Hermione said, scolding, half serious, half trying to prevent him from doing what she'd promised Mae she'd stop them from doing. Harry sighed and mumbled a reluctant "All right, all right; we'll do homework". Hermione almost sighed before realizing that that would be obvious. As she ate, Hermione started to feel that this whole lying to Harry and Ron was more work than it was worth. Besides, what would be so bad about Ron and Harry seeing Mae and Draco doing homework? Only that it would crush Ron, that's what, Hermione though dejectedly. He'll find out sooner or later, anyway, Hermione thought again, weighing out what she would do. But a promise is a promise, she sighed, resigning to keep her promise. When their breakfast was over, Harry and Ron trudged after Hermione towards the Gryffindor common room to do homework. Hermione couldn't say anything as to their decision to sit next to the window that looked over the grounds, but sat right next to I, blocking Harry and Ron from the view of the lake, where she had seen Mae and Draco hunched over their own pile of homework. **** They sat under the shady tree for about three hours before Mae sighed in exasperation. "I don't know what else to predict! My mind is foggier than one of those stupid crystal balls!" she said, throwing down her quill. Professor Trelawney had once again assigned a chart for one month of predictions. "Let me see," Draco said rubbing his neck; he had been craning over his homework for the last half hour. Mae passed her predictions over to him. He looked over it with an amused look on. "You seem to be having many tragedies this month. 'October 27th: Today I will be poisoned by a plant in Herbology'?" Mae smiled. "Our teacher likes predicting tragedies. The only thing I can think that I haven't done is die." Draco handed back her parchment and sighed too. "What about you? How're you coming along with your homework?" "I've finished everything except Arithmancy, look at this assignment," Draco passed Mae a piece of parchment with an assignment scribbled on it. He lay down against the trunk of the tree with his arms folded under his head. It was a long list of confusing calculations with formulas and numbers. As Mae tried to make out what all the symbols meant, she started to feel dizzy. She put the parchment down hastily and lay down too, clutching her spinning head. "That looks terribly difficult, and very confusing." Mae's head was lying in the sunlight, and she closed her eyes as a light breeze swept over her. Mae felt her self start to feel immensely sleepy when a large shadow covered her face and she opened her eyes. "Harry! Ron! What are you doing out here?" Mae said, sleep leaving her immediately. She sat up suddenly and turned around to face them, still sitting on the ground. Mae heard Draco sit up too and he yawned. Apparently he had fallen asleep because he looked very sleepy. "Potter? Weasley? What are you doing here?" he asked as he stretched elegantly while he yawned hugely. Ron just looked at Draco with contempt. "Was just about to ask you the same thing," he said. "We happen to be studying. We have been for the past three hours and just decided to take a break," Draco said coldly as sleep also left him quickly. Harry and Ron didn't answer but just looked at them for a moment before storming away. Draco scoffed and sat up again, resuming his work. Mae did the same with fresh guilt panging her. **** "Can you believe her? Hating him all these years, probably even more than we did, and now she-she just-urgh!" Ron was fuming beyond words, and it seemed that he couldn't find any either. Harry was also very either mad or disgusted, he hadn't decided yet. Inside, Harry knew Ron wasn't really angry with Mae, just very upset that Draco Malfoy got her after all the years Ron tried to ask her out. Harry also knew that the only reason Ron was acting as if he were angry is because he was a very proud person and wasn't about to admit he lost to Draco Malfoy. They both entered the common room to see Hermione looking very anxious. She had just gotten up to go to the bathroom after working very hard with Harry and Ron on their homework, and when she came back out they were gone. Harry and Ron had decided that they deserved a break from all the work and headed outside when Hermione left, knowing that if they proposed this idea while she was there, she'd convince them to stay. "Where have you guys been?" she said in a rather squeaky voice when she saw them. Harry scowled at her. "You've known about this all along, haven't you?" Harry said angrily. "Known? About what?" Hermione said trying to look puzzled but was almost certain what was coming. "Don't 'about what' us! You know we mean Malfoy and Mae! You've known all about Mae's new crush on him and that they were outside all along and you never told us!" Ron said in a cold voice. "We're not stupid, Hermione! All those giggle fits in the Great Hall! The way you kept trying to make us stay up here when there's a perfect sun outside!" Harry barked. Hermione looked horror-stricken at their outbursts. "Yes, I've known! But Mae-she made me promise not to tell, and I always keep my promises! And besides, it was for your own good, Ron! I knew you'd be crushed but I didn't know Mae was going to be so obvious, so you found out anyway!" Hermione wailed. Ron was absolutely outraged; he gave what was an unmistakable growl and plopped down on an armchair. Harry felt even more badly for Ron now and stayed where he was. He didn't know what to say to make him feel better when a lurching feeling emitted in his stomach. Harry recalled last year, his fourth year at the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. He had been transported to Voldemort's father's grave, right outside of his, Voldemort's, old home. Voldemort had called all his Death Eaters to him after he had been reborn and among them was none other than, Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy. This could mean Mae was in danger if she hung around with Draco. There was no telling what kind of Dark Magic Lucius Malfoy could teach his son. Harry started to feel anxious about Mae. Draco and Mae were outside, alone where anything could happen to her. "You guys!" Harry said with panic as he darted towards the exit of the common room. "You guys, Malfoy and Mae! Mae's in danger!" Harry said. "Danger? Harry, what are you talking about?" "Remember last year? At the Triwizard Tournament, when I was transported to the place where Voldemort was. I told you that all the Death Eaters had come and Lucius Malfoy was one of them! Mae's in danger with Malfoy!" he said bolting out of the common room. Ron and Hermione finally understood and bolted after Harry also. "But Harry, what could Malfoy do to Mae?" Hermione said while running, a way behind Harry. "You know how he is, he probably knows all these Dark Arts from his dad!" Ron said, catching on. "You know what? I bet he already has! He probably put that Imperius Curse on her to make her do all these things she wouldn't normally do! That's it!" Hermione rolled her eyes as they kept running down halls. She was about to tell him that would be impossible inside Hogwarts when she decided she'd let Ron have his moment of glory and reassurance, however absurd. The three of them had arrived outside where Mae and Draco still sat doing their homework, silently, and both looking unscathed and innocently busy. "Mae! Mae! Come here!" Harry yelled, running toward her. Mae looked at him with a puzzled face. "What? What is it?" she said looking at them with concern. Harry grabbed her arm and urged her over out of earshot of Draco. He was looking at them with irritation. "Mae, are you okay?" Hermione asked breathlessly. "Yes, why wouldn't I be?" Mae said with an uncomprehending look on. "Well.I've got to tell you. Malfoy's dangerous." "Dangerous?" Mae asked suspiciously, now. "Last year, at the third task, I was transported by the cup and well, Voldemort was there, right?" Harry waited for Mae to respond and Mae nodded. Harry still had a grip on her arm. "Okay, well, all these Death Eaters came back to him. Well, Lucius Malfoy, Malfoy's dad was there. Said he'd always been loyal to him and would have gone looking for Voldemort whenever he'd gotten wind of where he was when Voldemort questioned him." Harry waited for the blow to fall on Mae. "But. what does that have to do with him?" Mae asked, casting a quick glance at Draco, who was looking at them, waiting. "Well, obviously, Malfoy's probably in on that and he'd know all these Dark Arts. And. we were worried you'd been hurt. He's bad news, Malfoy is," Ron said, an obvious note of concern in his voice. Mae looked at him with a frightened look on her face. "You really think he would do-no, he wouldn't. H-he wouldn't, no," Mae said, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. "I mean I know he can be a jerk, but he wouldn't be involved in that kind of thing." "I wouldn't put it past him," Harry said, shooting Draco a look of deep loathing, which he returned as though he had been expecting it. Mae bowed her head and stayed silent for a long time. She looked back up at Harry, with a set, stubborn look. "No. I don't think he has anything to do with his dad. I believe his dad is into that thing but not Draco, no." Mae walked away, briskly and sat back down next to Draco. Harry and Ron looked after her with shocked faces, too shocked to even notice that Mae had just called Malfoy "Draco". "She can't see the truth. She won't believe that he's anything to do with his dad and the Dark Arts," Ron said bitterly. Hermione stayed silent and also looking after Mae, she had expected Mae to act like this. Mae didn't look back up at Harry, Ron, or Hermione, and they finally turned and left. **** Mae watched as the backs of Hermione, Harry, and Ron disappear into the castle. She sighed in exasperation and turned back to Draco who was looking at her thoughtfully. "What was that all about?" he asked, chin propped on his fist. Mae hesitated for a while, if he's really not into those things, he can't blame me for thinking he was. Everybody does seem to think he would be. "They were just worried about me. They thought I, well, might be in danger. with you," Mae kept her eyes down as she said this in an uncomfortable voice. "In danger? With me? Why?" he asked, an amused grin spreading on his face. This sounded like one of their stupid attempts to get back at him for all the times he'd successfully screwed up their lives. "Well, they think, your dad being who he is, you know. a Death Eater.." Mae trailed off, now bowing her head awkwardly. "Because of my dad?" Draco started laughing. "He's evil enough, isn't he?" Mae stared at him in disbelief. "I've never been interested in any of that crap that bastard tried to teach me!" Mae raised her eyebrows. "So-so he is evil?" Mae asked in awe. "Oh yeah, he's evil. But I know I'd never get involved in any of that. I just go along with it, saying I have 'Death Eater meetings' twice a month where we make wicked plans to kill all the mudbloods in the school. But I never have," he added hastily at the look on Mae's face. Mae was lost for words as Draco still sat sniggering at the idea of him being involved in the Dark Arts his dad was. After a while, Draco looked back up at her with a grin on, "So they really think I'm into that sort of thing? Never thought I'd given them the impression of being evil. A bloody pain in the ass, yes, but evil? Never would of thought of it." Mae smiled with a triumphant air around her. "What is it?" Draco asked looking up at her. "I told them I knew you'd never be caught up in that kind of thing, and I was right," she said. Draco grinned appreciatively. The thought that at least she, the one Draco was obsessed with, didn't think him an evil person comforted him. Mae looked back down to her homework; she had only one day left to fill. I think it's time for a change, she thought. She jotted down in the last box: October 31st: Today I gain someone I hold onto for the rest of my life. Mae looked back up at Draco, who had gone back to doing his homework, and smiled. **** Harry, Ron and Hermione walked back up to the castle: Harry infuriated with Mae, Hermione feeling dejected, and Ron furious, disgusted, and sad at the whole situation. When they'd arrived back in the common room, Ron plopped back down on an armchair and sighed heavily. Fred and George walked over from the other side of the common room. "Aww. is ickle Ronniekins feeling sad 'cause he lost the girl of his dreams to rat faced Malfoy?" Fred taunted with a fake sympathetic face on. Ron looked at him with a look of scorn and George plopped down on the arm of the chair next to Ron and held him in a neck lock. "Oh Ron. I don't think we've had-well, how do I put this? The talk. Ron, when an ickle boy like yourself starts to grow, he gets--" "Oh, get off, George!" Ron said in a strangled voice as he pushed George off the arm of the sofa chair. "And, I really understand why you'd be all shocked and sad like this," Fred said in tone very similar to the one Percy would put on whenever he tried to cheer someone up, something that wouldn't help you feel at all better about a situation. "If I had lost the girl I'd been chasing for five years to the likes of Malfoy, I'd be very mopey, to say anything at the least." "Oh thanks, Fred," Ron spat irritably. "Come on, Ron. There are other girls in the school, you know," Harry said, trying to comfort Ron. "None can come close to Mae," Ron said, now sounding much more miserable than when he had been talking to Fred and George, who were still standing next to Ron with grins on their faces. "You can't know that, Ron. You don't even know half the girls in the school," Hermione added reasonably. Ron groaned and sank in his chair. "Oh don't mope around for too long, Ron. Who knows? Malfoy Mae die suddenly of unnatural causes!" Fred said cheerfully as he and George turned and left. "Don't listen to them, Ron," Hermione said sympathetically. "Whatever." Ron sank even lower into his chair and groaned again. **** After about another half hour, Draco had also finished his homework while Mae lied back and took a short nap. "Done," he said, putting down his quill. "Wha-what?" Mae was startled awake, and she quickly sat up from the grass. "Oh sorry. I hadn't realized you were asleep," Draco said with an amused grin on. Mae sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Oh its-it's fine," Mae said as she yawned hugely and stretched her arms. Draco stood up and stretched too. He bent down to pick up his items and stuff them back into his bag. Mae had lain back down again, but with her eyes open in narrow slits, since the sun was still shining in her eyes. "I'm too tired to get up by myself." Mae stuck her hand up. "Will you help me?" she asked lazily through another yawn. Draco took Mae's hand and pulled. He pulled more then he had to, not knowing Mae was so light, and Mae ended up falling on him from the force. "Oh!" she squeaked as Draco grabbed her by the arms to pull her back up. Mae looked up at Draco's eyes and Draco back into hers. She felt her face going hot. It was all very sudden, yet everything seemed to be going in slow motion to her. Mae suddenly felt her self pulling into Draco and raising her head to meet his, as Draco lowered his own head to hers. They met in a long kiss. After what was about fifteen seconds, but felt like one short second of lightning and cold chills to Mae, they pulled away. Mae was left looking up at Draco still. Draco looked back down at her with a very refreshed-looking grin. He felt completely amazed that that kiss had happened. Mae smiled back, now sure her face was going red as her eyes trailed down to the ground. Mae was overwhelmed with joy. That kiss had been her first (surprisingly), and she had enjoyed it extremely. "I can't believe that happened," Mae said in a breathless voice. "I swear, if you'd have told me last year that you were going to be my first kiss, I'd have laughed hysterically for hours on end." Draco gave a short laugh. "If you'd have told me last year that you were going to be my first kiss, I'd have hoped and prayed that you could tell the future," Draco said with a smile on. He was still holding Mae by the shoulders and holding her close to him. Mae looked surprised. "You liked me last year?" she asked with interest. "Last year? Try since the day I met you. And not 'liked', it was more of an obsession," he said with an embarrassed grin. "You couldn't tell?" he asked surprisingly after a moment. "Well, I guess if I hadn't been so blinded by hate, I guess I would've noticed. But now that I think about it, yeah, I could tell by the way you were always very nice to me," Mae said with an uncomfortable-looking face on. Draco grinned, sighing, and finally letting go of Mae. He leaned back against the tree, casually and stared at Mae thoughtfully. For a long time, Mae returned the stare. She suddenly became nervous and cleared her throat.  
  
"Well, I guess we should, um. go," Mae said as she picked up her stuff and packed them hastily into her bag. Draco hesitated before pushing himself off the tree and picking his bag off from the ground. "Um, yeah. Sure," he said rather remorsefully. Mae glanced at him sideways and couldn't help but smile. Draco saw this and looked at her. "What is it?" he asked. "That was something. The kiss, I mean. wow," Mae said, fighting back a giggle as she tried to keep her face straight. Draco grinned agreeably. Mae stood back up and straightened herself up, stared at Draco for a second, and started to walk towards the castle. Draco, tagging along distantly, grinned at his luck. Well, let's see. A recap on today: Mae apologizes for "hating" me, asked me to go study with her, and not even before the sun sets, we kissed. What a pleasant day. **** Ron had been staring out the window for a long time, scanning the grounds. His gaze had absentmindedly fallen on Mae and Draco, who were still doing homework. Well, Draco was doing homework while Mae snoozed on the lawn. Ron had been staring at Draco contemptuously from his dormitory, when he saw Mae wake with a start. She stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes, when Draco had suddenly stood up. Mae had been sitting up when she lay back down slowly and lifted her hand towards Draco. After a second, Draco had taken her hand and pulled it to help her back up. He had pulled too hard and Mae had fallen forward, when Draco grabbed her by the upper arms and helped her to stand back up. In what looked like slow motion, Mae and Draco had both started leaning in towards each other. Next second, they were in a long kiss. "Argh! No!" Ron groaned forlornly as he banged his fist against the window softly. Ron saw Mae and Draco pull apart and stand staring at each other for a long time. He saw both of them grin and Mae look down. They stayed close together for about two minutes when Draco finally let go of her and leaned against a tree. "Oh yeah, put that face on like this is just what goes on in a normal day for you!" Ron spat under his breath. Suddenly Mae said something and bent down to hastily pack up her stuff. Draco, with a look of remorse picked up his already packed bag. Mae said something else then walked away with a grin on her face. Draco followed a bit distantly with a smug grin on his face. "Wipe that look off your face, you little rat!" Ron snarled in a whisper once more. Ron scoffed and got up, and walked towards the common room. When he got there, Harry and Hermione were doing their own homework silently. When Hermione heard Ron's heavy footfalls, she looked up. "Finally decide to stop moping around?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Ron scoffed. "No! Yes-well, that's beside the point--" Ron turned to Harry. "Do you know what I just saw outside?" "Oh don't tell me you've been spying on them all this time?" Hermione said with exasperation, knowing just whom he must be talking about. Ron shot her a dark look. "What did you see, Ron?" Harry asked offhandedly, looking up from his notes. "Well, I saw Mae and Malfoy-wait for it-kiss!" Harry looked mildly bewildered, and Hermione burst out with giggles. "What is so funny?" Ron asked haughtily. Hermione looked at him as though this should be obvious. "Well, didn't you think, I mean after a whole day of being together, you didn't think it wasn't not going to turn out like that? I mean, I am surprised it did take until the end of the day, practically--" "Well, we hoped it wouldn't, obviously, Hermione!" Ron snapped. "Oh, come off it. You guys act like it's a ridiculous thing to want to kiss someone like him--" "Someone like him? What exactly do you mean by that?" Ron yelled, outraged. "I mean, I would never want to, of course, since I really know him and what he's like. What I mean is, he isn't exactly ugly, is he? It's not like Mae turned out kissing someone as ugly as Crabbe or Goyle, is it?" she said in a matter-of-fact tone. Harry looked squeamish at the thought of kissing either Crabbe or Goyle. Ron stared at Hermione as if she had grown a new set of arms. "What is it with you girls and looks?" Ron said outrageously. "'Us girls?' What about you? Mr. I'll-take-the-prettiest-girl-who'll-have- me? You were desperate for a 'decent girl' last year for the Yule Ball!" Hermione yelled at Ron, now becoming angry. "That was different! I would have looked stupid without a girl to go with! Mae doesn't need to find someone as a boyfriend!" "Yeah, she doesn't need to if it's not you, right?" Hermione said darkly. Ron opened his mouth to say something, but found he had nothing to respond to this. "Yeah, that's what I thought," Hermione said calmly. "Shut up!" Ron barked at her. Just then, Mae walked in looking very happy with a breathless smile on her face. She walked over to the three of them and looked at them triumphantly. "Well, I asked him, and he said that his dad indeed is into that Dark Art stuff, but that he wasn't," she said. "And you believed that rat?" Harry said. Mae gave him a face. "He is not a rat, you know," Mae said severely. "Well, we can't exactly take your word for it. You're the one who kissed him," Ron said softly, but not soft enough for Mae to miss. Mae looked at him bewildered. "Yeah, I saw you," Ron said, reading the look on her face. "I-I-um, Ron--" "I'm going back to my dormitory, bye Harry, Hermione," Ron said getting up and stalking over to his dormitory silently. Mae sat down, low into Ron's vacated seat, distressed, not daring to look at Harry or Hermione. "You know, this is starting to seem more trouble than it's worth," Mae muttered. Hermione smiled down at her weakly. "Oh, don't worry, Mae. He should get over it in time. probably long time," Hermione paused uncertainly, "but it's okay!" she added hastily. Mae smiled weakly back up at her. Mae sank lower into her chair. Harry spoke up finally. "So, you really kissed him?" he asked in a whisper. "Yes, Harry I did kiss Draco," Mae said irritably. "Oh, so it's 'Draco' now, is it?" Harry asked with a grin on. Mae scoffed and nodded. Harry shook his head slowly. "Malfoy, Mae? I never would've even thought-you and Malfoy?" Harry asked disbelievingly. "Yes, Harry: me and 'Malfoy'!" Mae said in exasperation. Harry shook his head again before returning to his homework. Hermione threw him a look before going back to Mae with a sympathetic look on. "Oh, don't listen to him, Mae. Everything will be okay," she said comfortingly. Mae looked up at her with an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Hermione. I think I'll head to the Great Hall for a late lunch- early dinner sort of thing, bye." With that, Mae stood up and left towards the exit of the common room. **** Draco walked off to his common room after he'd parted with Mae at the foot of a staircase that leads to the Gryffindor common room. He went up to his dormitory where he left his bag full of books. Draco went back down the stairs when he saw Pansy Parkinson, looking disgruntled, glaring at him from a couch. She was lying across it, her legs crossed and her arms folded over her chest. "Where have you been?" Pansy asked curtly. "And why do you look so happy?" she added as an afterthought. Draco put on his usual sneer. "Well-look who it is? Miss Can't-get-over-me, how nice." Pansy shot him a dark look, which masqueraded her hurt face. "As an answer to your questions, if you must know, I've been outside on the grounds with Melany Hailer," Draco bragged with a grin on his face that was much more like a smug smirk. "Oh, and your other question: I don't think that's really any of your business," Draco added curtly. "But we kissed! You can't just do this to me!" Pansy screamed, now standing up and clenching her fists. "If I recall correctly; you kissed me last year after the Yule Ball. I hold no bind to you," Draco said casually, leaning against the wall next to the blazing fireplace. He recalled Christmas night, last year, after the Yule Ball held thanks to the happening of the Triwizard Tournament. He had escorted Pansy to it, only because she had practically forced him into it when she asked him the minute after they found out about the Yule Ball. Following it, Draco and Pansy had walked back up to the Slytherin common room; Pansy had had her arm linked with Draco's. He had bid her goodnight and Pansy had caught him off guard when she bent down his neck and kissed him on the lips very quickly before bolting up to her dormitory. Draco had stood as still as a statue after she had left, rooted to the spot for the very first time in his life. Draco smiled at this memory before looking back up at Pansy with the same sneer on his face and the old drawl back in his voice. He hadn't really called that his first kiss. He called what he had just had with Mae a first kiss. Both of the people have to be willing to kiss. Draco had not at all wanted to kiss Pansy that night. "See you around, Parkinson," he drawled. Pansy blushed furiously, the color clashing horribly with the inky black of her hair and dull brown of her eyes. Draco's malicious grin widened before he turned and left out of the common room. **** Mae sat in the Great Hall, which was empty except for a couple of Hufflepuffs who had also come late. She sighed as she sloshed her turkey around the plate. She felt quite forlorn if she thought about how Ron had looked at her. But if Mae turned her mind to the school grounds, and what happened out there with Draco. it was more of a thing to smile at. Just then, as she was thinking about him, Draco walked in with a sneer on his face. He automatically spotted Mae and smiled at her, his malice disappearing at once. Mae was surprised at how well a real smile fit his face. Mae was so used to seeing him with a sneer or malevolent look on that was generally wicked. But now, when he really smiled, it made his face look much more relaxed and happy; more like the teenager he was. Mae waved back at him and smiled too, her forlornness leaving her immediately. Draco hesitated, and then walked over to her. He'd never been over to the Gryffindor table when he wasn't going to hassle Harry and his friends. He was very thankful that there were no other Gryffindors present at the moment. "Hi. You feeling hungry, too?" Draco asked, sliding into a chair, gracefully, next to Mae. "Yeah, I really had forgotten about lunch when we were." Mae cleared her throat, "outside." Draco gave her a sly grin, as he raised an eyebrow. Mae cleared her throat once more, "You know. Ron saw us kiss," Mae said with a guilty face on. At this, Draco gave a wide, amused grin. "Weasley, eh? So, what'd he say when he saw you?" Draco asked with interest. "I guess he was pretty upset; he stormed out before I could really say anything," Mae said with remorse. She sighed deeply and added in a soft voice, "He's probably gonna hate me, now." "Don't worry, you get used to it," Draco said without really thinking and trying to sound comforting, which was something that he wasn't very good at it since he usually used something like this to make people feel worse. Mae suddenly looked very depressed and bowed her head. "I don't want to; Ron's one of my best friends." Now Mae looked utterly miserable as she lowered her voice even more. Draco wasn't sure what to do, so he just put his hand on Mae's shoulder comfortingly. Mae inhaled sharply and she fell into Draco in a desperate embrace. "Agh!" Draco grunted as he was thrown by surprise at Mae's sudden gesture. She held him around the middle for about thirty seconds and Draco just put his arms around her shoulders lightly until Mae let go of him. She shifted back into her chair slowly looking down and her face looked rosy as if she was close to tears and trying very hard to hold them back. "Are-are you okay?" Draco asked softly, turning in his chair to look at Mae. She inhaled deeply and looked up at Draco. He saw her eyes were also a bit red. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry," Mae said looking very embarrassed as she straightened herself up. "It's fine," Draco said. "And really," he added seriously as he grabbed Mae by the shoulders, "you shouldn't worry. I'm sure nobody could hate you. At least, not for long." Mae smiled appreciatively up at him before returning to her lunch. About a half hour later, Mae and Draco both finished their lunches and got up to go their separate ways. "Well, I guess I'll see you at dinner. Do you think you want to sit with me again? Nothing personal, but I don't think I'd be very welcome at your table," Draco said with a grin. Mae smiled. "Sure. Well, I'll see you." Mae stood on her tiptoes and kissed Draco on the cheek, before walking away, towards the opposite side Draco was going. Draco again stood rooted to the spot. Except, this time, it was more from a numb feeling in his knees, where he felt that, if he started to try to walk he'd surely not be able to. Draco smiled broadly before turning and walking off towards his own common room as the numbness subsided. **** Ron had been sitting on his bed, in his dormitory for most of the evening when he thought he could get over it. As long as he didn't see Mae and Draco together for the rest of the weekend, he'd be able to get over it. But was Ron in for a surprise when he got to dinner that evening. Not only was it very cloudy all of a sudden outside, much to everyone's surprise at the afternoon's sunny weather, but also Mae was once again eating with Draco at the Slytherin table. When Ron had walked in, Mae had automatically spotted him, and quickly looked away, looking quite miserable. Draco noticed this, and glared at Ron. Ron hardly cared or noticed this but walked over to the Gryffindor table mournfully. Draco glared after Ron and put his hand on Mae's shoulder comfortingly. Mae, in respond, laid her head on Draco's shoulder, and kept her eyes down.  
  
Harry, who had already come down to dinner with Hermione before Ron had come down, saw this and stared in disgust. Hermione also saw this and turned to Ron with pity. "Ron?" she said softly. Ron groaned in reply. "Oh, Ron, come on. Don't be sad." "I'm not sad, I'm just. I just can't believe she had to pick him out everyone else! I probably wouldn't be like this if it had been anyone else!" Ron complained. "Yeah right! If it had been Harry--" "Hey, don't bring me into this!" Harry said to Hermione. "Fine. If it had been Seamus or Dean you'd be just as miserable," Hermione said reasonably as she ate a buttered biscuit. "No, I wouldn't. A Gryffindor is never as bad as a Slytherin!" Ron retorted. "Besides, I know I can beat up Dean or Seamus without a problem. don't know 'bout Malfoy, though." Hermione scoffed and dropped the subject.  
  
Over at the Slytherin table, Mae sat glancing at Ron's back with guilt every now and then. She sighed and looked back up at Draco who was watching her with a skittish look. "What's wrong?" Mae asked. Draco blinked and shook his head with a small grin, turning back to his food. Mae looked up at the enchanted ceiling. It's cloudy and still. There's going to be a storm tomorrow, Mae thought offhandedly. She looked back down at her untouched plate of food. Her stomach groaned with hunger and she started to eat. Mae and Draco sat in the Great Hall, long after they had finished eating, talking. It wasn't until Professor McGonagall came in to tell them off for not leaving around eleven, that they got up to go their separate ways. "Well, good night." Mae shifted her weight from her left leg to the right nervously. Mae admired how casual and relaxed Draco could look in a situation where she was so fidgety. "Yeah. G'night." Draco was about to turn and leave when Mae blurted something that had been on her mind all day. "Hey, Draco?" Mae hesitated. "Well, do you think--? Are we, like, girlfriend and boyfriend now?" Draco opened his mouth to say something, "I mean, if you don't want to, I mean--" "Of course I want to be. Remember? I have ever since. forever ago," Draco said, a bit forcefully. Mae smiled. "So then. we are. Good." Mae went up on her tiptoes again to kiss Draco. Draco was ready for it this time, and kissed Mae back, managing to get her to kiss on the lips. Mae stood back flatly on her feet, and smiled at Draco for his boldness. She looked very amused and turned to leave. Draco left, elated, almost feeling like he had a spring in his step. When he got to this common room, it was deserted except for his cronies Crabbe and Goyle, who sat waiting stupidly. "You're here still?" Draco asked, wiping off the elated look from his face with an irritated one. They merely grunted sleepily. "Well, you don't have to wait for me every night if you're this tired, you know," Draco said casually. They grunted again and trudged off to their dormitories. Draco followed rather distantly, a grin on his face. **** When Mae had walked all the way to Gryffindor tower, she saw Hermione was still in the common room. "Hi," Mae said as she sat down next to Hermione at a table in a corner. "What's with you?" Hermione asked with interest. "Well. it's official; Draco and I are a 'item'," Mae said with a smile. Hermione smiled. "Oh really?" Mae nodded. "How'd that happen?" "Well, Draco and I were in the Great Hall just now right? Okay, so he was about to leave and I asked him if all this 'kiss' business meant that we were a couple and he said that he'd always wanted to so, yeah," Mae said with a smile. "He always wanted to?" Hermione asked with surprise. "So you're saying that he said he'd always liked you?" "That's what he told me when we were talking out on the grounds. I said: 'If anyone ever told me last year that he was going to be my first kiss that I'd laugh in their face.' Then he said the same thing except that he'd hope that they were able to predict the future," Mae said, unable to stop smiling now. "Wow. It's like you guys have always been this perfect couple but only found it out five years later. Because you two do make a very good-looking couple," Hermione said seriously. Mae smiled broadly and yawned. "Well, I'm really exhausted, what with everything that's happened tonight. I'm going to go up to bed," Mae said, getting up. "I'll come with you. I've just finished this report for Charms, and I'm worn out." Hermione rounded up all her things and followed Mae up the stairs to their dormitory. Mae had been dreaming uneasily for a long time, now. At the moment, she was having a dream where she was running along side an animal she couldn't make out. They were running in the dark and Mae felt she just had to keep running, and running when suddenly she heard a loud screech and instantly, there was something on her, trying to kill her. Mae screamed loudly in her dream when her eyes snapped open. She put her hand to her face and it was wet with cold sweat. Mae looked to her watch that was on the nightstand next to her bed. It was only three thirty in the morning. She decided to go get a drink of water from the bathroom. Mae trudged over to the bathroom and turned on the sink, splashing her face with cold water. When she looked up into the mirror, she screamed loudly. Looking back at her was a horrible face that was far from her own. It looked charred, and the eyes were red and had snake-like slits for pupils. Mae blinked furiously and was happy to see that when she looked back up at her reflection it was back to normal: a drowsy, horrified face. Mae sighed deeply, sure that the delusion was a sign of her sleepiness. She paced back to her dormitory rather quickly and curled up into her bed, where she fell asleep almost immediately. **** Draco had been sitting awake in his bed until three, restless though yearning to fall asleep. Around three-thirty, when his eyes had finally started to droop, he could have sworn he'd heard a long scream from somewhere above. Draco's eyes opened again, and he muttered angrily at how inconsiderate people could be. ".Trying to sleep here, and someone just screams as loud as they can. Real great, that is. Been trying to fall asleep for over five hours; I start to, and some girl decides to scream at the top of her lungs." Draco reached over to his lamp and turned it off. He slid into the covers of his bed and started to doze again. In his forming dreams, Draco wondered who exactly had screamed and why. He didn't ponder on this for a long time as he fell asleep, finally. The next morning, he awoke rather suddenly, and to his great dislike, at six thirty in the morning. It was still gloomy and he'd resulted in only having two and a half hours of sleep. He swore bitterly under his breath and turned around in his bed, closing his eyes tight, willing them to fall asleep again. He sat there for what felt like forever, never falling asleep again. When, suddenly there had begun a loud pitter-patter of rain falling on the roof. "Oh, God! Do the forces of nature just not want me to sleep?" he said rather loudly, opening his eyes and giving up all hope of sleep. The mist on the school grounds had seemed to double with the coming of the rain, and it seemed only a bit lighter, though not much thanks to the rain clouds covering the sky. Draco stared out at the rain scornfully. He stared for a long time, until his feelings toward it changed to calm and content. He sat until he lost track of time. By the time it was near eight, the rain had increased to a wind-less, thunder-less shower of heavy raindrops. Draco decided to go to breakfast, the earliest he had on a weekend, especially a Sunday. **** Mae awoke pleasantly, no longer being troubled by any unfamiliar faces or strange dreams around six thirty. Not intentionally, though she couldn't go back to sleep, even though it was the weekend. Mae instantly wondered if Draco was awake and if he had been disturbed by any unruly dreams, and doubted both. Mae laid her head on her pillow and looked up at the ceiling, sighing heavily. She could hardly see; it was still pretty dark outside with a mist hanging low to the ground. Mae sat and thought about yesterday's event pleasantly. She closed her eyes, watching her memory passing before her mind's eye, grinning until she saw the look on Ron's face. It had been a cross between disgust, anger, and deep sadness. Mae had felt so guilty to make him feel like that when he was such a good person and friend. He deserves better, Mae thought sadly. She sighed again as she turned over in her bed, longing for sleep once more. Mae had sat in her bed staring at the ceiling until the rain started falling heavily. She smiled, remembering her prediction last night. I was right, she thought in singsong. Around eight, she had stopped staring at the rain in a sort of trance, and changed into her robes to go down to the Great Hall. Mae paced down towards the entrance hall, hearing the loud patter of the heavy water drops falling on the ceiling. Mae stopped next to the Great Hall doors and stared out of a large window. She lost herself in the rainfall again, until she felt someone grab her shoulder, suddenly. Mae had been taken by great surprise, as she hadn't heard anyone walking towards her. She screamed very suddenly and jumped around to face the person who had grabbed her shoulder. It was Draco, he had jumped back, looking alarmed. They stood silent for a long time, Mae clutching her heart and her breathing slowing down gradually. "It was you," Draco said, an amused grin spreading on his face. Mae looked up at him with confusion. "Me? What was 'me'?" "Last night, around three. I heard someone scream, from somewhere above. It was you. I can tell by the way you just screamed: all loud and piercing and sleep-shattering." Mae blushed. She hadn't known someone had heard her, or that the Slytherin dungeons were under Gryffindor dormitories. "Was I that loud?" Mae asked with embarrassment. "Yes. But, that's beside the point. Just why were you screaming at three in the morning?" Draco asked, leaning casually against the wall and looking at her with an eyebrow slightly raised in interest. Mae envied how he could do that so well. She felt that if she ever tried to do that she'd look like a mental patient. "I'd had a bad dream," Mae said rather uneasily. This was the truth, but it hadn't been the reason why she'd screamed. "And why were you awake at three, anyway?" Mae added as an afterthought. "Insomnia. bad dream, huh?" he asked, raising his other eyebrow. Mae nodded casually. Draco's look of interest left, being replaced by an exhausted look longing for sleep. Mae had also been very sleepy and she yawned hugely, also leaning against the wall, next to Draco. She suddenly remembered, with a lurching in her stomach, the agreement she and Draco had made. They were, now officially boyfriend and girlfriend. She looked up at Draco who was looking down at the floor sleepily. She wondered if she should show to him that she remembered this. She stood up on tiptoes and kissed Draco on the cheek. He looked suddenly awake, and turned to her with a smile. She smiled back and sighed, leaning back again, this time, closer to Draco. Mae felt a cold chill dart up her spine for a split second. Nerves, how wonderful, she thought sarcastically. This time, it was Draco's turn to clear his throat. "Um. breakfast?" he asked awkwardly, getting off the wall. Mae gave him a nod, sensing his tension, and also got off the wall. Draco held the door for her, and she walked in. Mae hesitated before turning towards the Slytherin table, where Draco was already headed. She gave the lonely Gryffindor table one last glance before turning her back on it and walking towards the other side of the hall. There was no one in the Great Hall besides the two of them yet. Mae's food appeared instantly after she sat her self down in the chair next to Draco. She had started to eat when she looked up at the enchanted ceiling, showing her a strong downpour. "It's beautiful," Mae whispered breathlessly. It was a while before she realized that she had spoken this out loud, and she looked back at Draco who was looking at her with a rather mischievous look on. "What?" Mae asked suspiciously. He looked back down at his half empty plate and pushed it aside, so that it cleaned itself instantly. Mae looked from Draco's plate back up to him with a puzzled look on. "What are you--?" But before Mae could finish her question, Draco had grabbed her around the wrist. She squeaked before comprehending. "Draco, are you crazy? We'll get soaked!" she yelled outrageously as she was being dragged at an amazing speed towards the school grounds. Draco had almost got her knocked into Harry as they passed him in the entrance hall. He stared after them in amazement, looking like he'd almost had a heart attack at their sudden appearance. "Sorry Harry!" Mae managed to yell back at him. She turned back to Draco, suddenly becoming irritated. "Draco stop--!" But he and Mae were already standing on the grass outside Hogwarts castle. They had stood there for barely ten seconds, and they were both now drenched to the bone. Mae looked torn between full amusement and complete rage. Her amusement got the better of her and she smiled up at Draco, whose hair was fallen all over his face, instead of his usual slicked back style. It made look much more like the kind of "Draco" Mae could love, rather than that loathsome thing from Slytherin that she had detested ever since she'd met him. Mae laughed quietly and Draco smiled. "I can't believe you!" she said, pushing back her sopping wet hair from her face. "Don't tell me this isn't fun?" Draco asked, crossing his arms. "Sure, it's fun, but I just never expected this from you; something so." Mae was about to say good-natured but thought it might be offensive. "Nice?" Draco said, his mouth curling into a grin as his arms stayed folded across his chest. "No, I was going to say. evanescent," Mae said, choosing a word randomly, hoping it wouldn't be mean and would make sense. "Evanescent? You don't even know what that word means," Draco said with an amused look on. "If you did, you wouldn't have just called me un- evanescent," he added as Mae opened her mouth, about to say, "I do to!" At this, Mae closed her mouth firmly and Draco looked overly amused and he laughed. "Be quiet!" Mae barked, flippantly. Draco caught this, and stopped laughing, though kept on his satisfied grin. After a while, Mae also smiled and ran off, away from the Hogwarts castle and towards the lake. Her arms were outstretched and she twirled like an ice skater. "Having fun?" Draco asked. He felt lighthearted and his mind was clear of all worries and troubles. He walked towards Mae, who nodded in reply. She was now sitting on a dry patch of ground in the shade of a tree. Draco sat down next to her, his drenched clothes sticking to his cold, pale skin. Mae sighed softly and laid her head on Draco's shoulder, staring out at the perforated lake. She shivered violently from the cold water that ran down her neck, dripping off her hair. Draco put his arm around her in reply, almost instinctively and her shivering seemed to cease almost immediately. Mae felt at ease with the world at the moment, as if everything that happened was right and that anything bad going on, she was going to get through with simplicity. She had been staring at the lake, watching the giant squid poke out every now and then, when she absentmindedly fell into a needed sleep. Draco had also been feeling at ease with the world. After a while, he felt his eyelids droop and fall into an even more needed sleep. Mae had begun to dream about strange things again. This time, they were more horrible than curious. She was standing on a cliff, lit only by the dim light of a thin crescent moon. Below her was a low valley falling steeply from the cliff edge. There was a sudden blast of green light, and Mae was burst backwards with a scream that split the tranquil silence of the air around her. She was blasted back until she hit a tree and landed with a loud thud on the ground it stood. Mae had started to blink blood from the great force and her vision was fogged. There was a looming, tall figure gliding toward her, wand in hand outstretched, pointing down at her. Suddenly someone unmistakable, but impossible appeared. She stood in front of Mae, shielding her defensively. The woman lifted her left hand and pointed her palm at the looming figure. He cackled menacingly. "Move aside, girl!" he screeched. The woman in front of Mae hesitated but stood her ground. Mae tried to yell but was too weak. The figure muttered a spell and there was another great flash of green light. Mae closed her eyes, when she heard a dull thud of body hitting ground. "No, Mom, no!" she finally managed to scream. Her vision blurred once more and her conscious mind came back and Mae remembered where she was. Her eyes snapped open and Mae saw she had slipped to have her head on Draco's chest now and he was fast asleep. She pulled away and started to tremble fervently. Draco suddenly awoke, and looked at Mae sitting beside him, her face white with terror. "What's wrong, Mae?" Draco asked sleepily. She turned to him, her face now streaked with tears. "He did it, he killed her! It wasn't a disease, it was him!" Mae said hoarsely, as her voice started breaking. She lunged herself onto Draco with weakened force. Draco looked down at her with shock and concern. "What? Mae, who killed who?" he asked, pulling her off him so that she was looking up at him. "Voldemort! He killed my mom! She didn't die from a disease! He k-killed h- her!" Mae's voice was breaking worse than ever and her face was no longer white, but rosy with sadness and rage. She fell into him again, her shoulders shaking with grief as she cried silently. Draco held Mae gently. I never knew her mom was dead, he thought feeling great pity for her as he looked down at Mae, she was trembling uncontrollably. Draco felt a strange sensation emit in his stomach. He knew then exactly what it was. Now he was very shocked but kept holding Mae while she wept. What else could it be? He'd never felt it before, not even for his parents, at least not at this degree. He was in love with this girl. He loved this girl who was crying with immense pain and grief. He knew then and there that he was in deep love with Melany Hailer. ****  
  
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